•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Muhammad Teguh Aladam, or Adam, as he refers to himself, has been having trouble sleeping since the 7.6-magnitude quake struck his hometown of Pagang in West Sumatra last week.

The 11-year-old boy became silent and tense after witnessing two of his friends die when a concrete fence surrounding the playground they were playing in collapsed on top of them.

“I’m so afraid that another earthquake might come while I’m sleeping,” he told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday, adding that he was also afraid to go to school.

Dasmiwati, Adam’s mother, said she did not know how to persuade her son to go back to class. The 48-year-old woman said Adam was afraid another earthquake would strike while he was inside the school building.

Like most of the houses in her village, Dasmiwati’s home was heavily damaged in the quake, leaving them with only a roof under which to place a mattress on the bare ground.

Nine-year-old Fiki Pujiadi, who with his family was evacuated to Mount Panggilun after the temblor, has become withdrawn and agitated since the earthquake.

“He was a very active boy, but now he is so full of stress and so nervous, especially when an aftershock happens,” said Puji Astuti, Fiki’s mother.

Yuniar Sunarko, a Malang-based psychiatrist, said children were at particular risk of developing psychological problems due to trauma from disasters that destroyed homes or took the lives of loved ones.

“These children might suffer from serious post-traumatic stress disorder if they are not treated properly and immediately,” she said.

Yuniar said the most common disorder for disaster survivors was general anxiety, which is marked by the constant burden of nagging fear. “They might live in fear all the time, thinking that a disaster might happen to them again anytime soon,” she said.

Yuniar also said these children could be vulnerable to drug abuse later in life as a way to self-medicate for their anxiety.

“They could be easy targets for the drug dealers as they would be looking for an instant solution to overcome their fear,” she said.

Yuniar said the most important step in helping children overcome trauma was to help them identify their own feelings, because sufferers were often unaware of their emotions and could channel them in unproductive ways.

“We need to convince them that it was a natural disaster and it was nobody’s fault, because many times a disaster survivor suffers from survivor guilt,” she said, adding that children can be encouraged to write a journal to help them deal with their emotions.

Yuniar said games and pictures could also be used to help children identify their feelings. “And when they are ready to have a serious talk, continuous counseling is needed to help them channel their anger and frustration into positive energy,” she said.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the Ministry of Health’s Crisis Center, said the ministry was ready to deploy teams of health professional to help children cope.

Padang is prone to quakes and most residents have some knowledge of such disasters.

Seto Mulyadi, chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said West Sumatrans had a reputation for being extroverted and expressive. Because of that, recovery is likely to be easier, said Seto, who has dealt with tsunami victims in Aceh and helped quake survivors in Yogyakarta and West Java.

“Hopefully survivors in West Sumatra can rebound faster because they are known for their outspoken personalities,” he said. “It’s always good to talk to someone in this kind of situation.”